Michelle Dixon is the Data Manager at the Research Alliance for New York City Schools, where she oversees the processing and organization of data in the Research Alliance archive, collaborates with researchers to meet data analysis needs, and strengthens NYC’s research infrastructure by developing new data partnerships and funding.
Michelle brings extensive expertise in the collection, processing, and analysis of K-12 data. Prior to her role at the Research Alliance, she served as a Technical Research Associate at MDRC, where her work centered on evaluations of career and technical education (CTE) models, educational technology tools, and the transition from high school to postsecondary education. This included significant contributions to the P-TECH 9-14 project, an influential multi-cohort evaluation of a CTE and early college high school model, that highlighted program impacts and gender differences in dual enrollment outcomes. Michelle also worked as a Data Manager for the Office of School Health at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she managed student health and school roster data systems and developed reporting tools for school clinic providers.
Michelle believes that the careful stewardship of education data, when paired with the right research questions, has the power to improve policy and help drive positive outcomes for students.
Michelle holds a Master of Public Health from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a B.A. in Biology and Linguistics from Cornell University.